KARACHI: The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan at its opening session on Saturday [March 17] … passed a Bill, providing for general elections to the NWFP Legislative Assembly on the basis of universal adult franchise. The Bill also increases the number of seats in the legislature from 50 to 85 — one representative for every 40,000 in the province. Mr Abdus Sattar Pirzada replying to a debate in the first reading of the Bill said: “Wherever the terms of the provincial legislatures expire, we will hold general elections on the basis of adult franchise.”

He turned down a suggestion to retain special traders’ constituencies in the NWFP. The Assembly, he pointed out, had abolished all special constituencies in the Punjab. He said: “We cannot have different principles for different provinces.” The House voted out the only amendment to the Bill by …Rajkumar Chakravarti to increase special women’s seats in the NWFP Assembly from two to five. Pro­fessor Chakravarti argued that women in the NWFP formed at least 30 per cent of the population and thus deserved a larger share of seats. “Why should men in the NWFP get preference over women? — Staff correspondent

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2026